Child wellbeing, mothering and protection
Date
2016
Authors
Buchanan, F.
Editors
Wendt, S.
Moulding, N.
Moulding, N.
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Book chapter
Citation
Source details - Title: Contemporary Feminisms in Social Work Practice, 2016 / Wendt, S., Moulding, N. (ed./s), Ch.13, pp.196-208
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
In this chapter, I critique current theories that are commonly applied to child wellbeing, mothering and child protection, and I call for social workers to incorporate a radical feminist perspective to address the needs of women and their children. I argue that current applications of attach-ment and ecological theories do not provide opportunities to discuss chil-dren’s wellbeing and protection in ways that honour and support women’s mothering abilities. I make this argument by drawing on my own research into domestic violence. By taking a radical feminist perspective, I draw on knowledge from the lived experiences of women and children I have worked with in practice and interviewed as a feminist researcher. From this perspective, I propose social work responses that problematise the gendered contexts of women’s and children’s lives, and support a par-ticular strengths- based approach to work in this area. This chapter pro-motes feminist understandings of women’s knowledge regarding protectiveness and identites societal challenges to optimal conditions for child wellbeing, mothering and child protection. In doing so, I describe a radical feminist approach that counters gender- blind applied psychologi-cal theories that are based on judgements of good or bad mothering, or operate without concern for the gendered contexts of women’s and children’s lives
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Access Status
Rights
Copyright 2016 Sarah Wendt and Nicole Moulding